Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area Heritage Development Grants

The Hudson River Valley Greenway and the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area (HRVNHA) are pleased to announce the availability of $65,000 in matching grants through the 2017 Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area Heritage Development Grant Program. This annual grant program offers funding for programming, interpretation, and marketing projects that support the mutual goals of the HRVNHA and applicants. Grants will typically range from $1,000 to $5,000. Projects that include multiple partners will be eligible to receive more than $5,000. Grant program guidelines and applications are available on the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area website: hudsonrivervalley.com/heritage-development-grants The application deadline is February 3rd.

Governor Andrew M. Cuomo has announced $3 million in Environmental Justice Community Impact Grants to mitigate environmental and public health threats in low-income and minority communities. Not-for-profit community-based organizations are eligible to apply for Community Impact Grants to work on projects that address environmental and public health concerns of the residents in the impacted neighborhood. Organizations are required to have their primary office located in the affected community, serve residents in one city, town or borough and have a total annual revenue less than $3,000,000. The deadline to submit an application for the Environmental Justice Community Impact Grant is January 31 at 3 p.m. Read more here

Ulster County Recognized for Environmental Achievements

Ulster County will be featured in the December issue of National Geographic magazine for its environmental achievements, in a special section dedicated to "Dreaming Green." The feature lauds Ulster County's commitment to preserving habitat while still encouraging development. Daily Freeman article here.

Ulster County was also recently designated as one of the newest Climate Smart Communities in New York State by the Department of Environmental Conservation. The Climate Smart Communities Certification program, announced in 2014, recognizes leaders who have reduced greenhouse gas emissions, cut energy use, and helped their communities adapt to changing climatic conditions. The Town of Mamaroneck in Westchester County was also designated. Read more here.

New Greenway Acting Executive Director

Scott Keller has been named the new Acting Executive Director for the Hudson River Valley Greenway and National Heritage Area. Scott was previously the Greenway's Trails and Special Projects Director and Finance Manager, and will continue in his finance position. Scott has been with the organization for over 30 years, and has been instrumental in establishing the Hudson River Greenway Water Trail.

Photo credit: Bruce Romanchak

Hudson River Valley Ramble Giveaway Winners

This year Hudson River Valley Ramble participants were able to submit comments by mail or online and be entered to win one of several prizes. We are pleased to announce that Sherry Skidelsky is the winner of a $100 LL Bean gift card; Fran Friedman is the winner of a $75 NYS Parks gift card; and Joseph Kollar and Pat Mulligan are each the winners of an REI backpack. Ramble event leaders who submitted their event results were also eligible for a drawing for a $100 LL Bean gift card, and Tom Lake was the winner, who has run an event for every one of our 17 Annual Rambles! Thanks, Tom!

Congratulations to the winners and thank you to LL Bean, NYS Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation, and REI for their generous support.

From 5:00 P.M. to 8:00 P.M. on Saturday, December 17th join the Ellison family as they manage both the locals and over 300 Continental artillerymen in search of liquid refreshment in this first person presentation set during the winter of 1780-81. More here

Holiday Whodunit - Staatsburgh State Historic Site, Staatsburg, New York

December 18th from 1-4 p.m. Children become detectives to solve a history mystery. Costumed interpreters throughout the house provide clues to help kids find whodunit. More here.

Tom Buckhardt: FULL STOP-Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, New York

A full-scale replica of a mythical artist's studio made of cardboard, wood, glue, and flat black paint. On exhibit through February 12, 2017. More here.

Matisse Drawings: Curated by Ellsworth Kelly-Katonah Museum of Art, Katonah, New York

A unique exploration of Henri Matisse's drawings by one of America's greatest abstract artists. On exhibit at the Katonah Museum of Art through January 29, 2017. More here.

Post No Bills: Public Walls as Studio and Source-Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, New York

The beauty of decaying walls serves as an inspiration that informs the works in this exhibit. This multi-media group exhibition features seven international artists who explore a contemporary archaeological aesthetic, making art on urban walls in which the wall itself becomes an integral part of the work. On exhibit through December 23, 2016. More here.

Ray Spillenger: Rediscovery of a Black Mountain Painter-Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, New York

This exhibit includes over forty paintings and drawings dating from the artist's Black Mountain College days to the late 1960s, and reveals Spillenger's deep commitment to abstraction and his passionate love of color. On exhibit through December 23, 2016. More here.

POP! Prints from the Permanent Collection-Neuberger Museum of Art, Purchase, New York

Exhibition features significant Pop Art prints from the permanent collection of the Neuberger Museum of Art. On exhibit through February 19, 2017. More here.

Red Grooms Paints the Civil War- Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, New York

The Civil War, America's story, is told by Red Grooms, American artist, who for 50 years has brought life from city and country to sculpture and canvas, with truth that he inflects with compassion and humor. On exhibit through February 12, 2017. More here.

In 1894, Ruth Livingston Mills (a member of the prominent Livingston family, which owned a large chunk of the Hudson Valley) inherited 334 acres and a Greek Revival house. With her husband, capitalist Ogden Mills, she commissioned architects McKim, Mead and White to enlarge and remodel the dwelling. The building was transformed into a 65-room Beaux-Arts mansion. After their deaths, Staatsburgh was inherited by their son, Ogden L. Mills, who served as Secretary of the Treasury under Herbert Hoover. The estate was donated to the state in 1938. Today, the home features original furnishings and objects d’art from Europe and the Far East. The 60-foot-long dining room boasts a marble floor while Baccarat crystal accessories adorn many of the mansion’s 14 bathrooms. Staatsburgh, which surmounts a large sloping lawn, is located within Mills-Norrie State Park. The mansion’s sloping western lawn is a popular spot for sledding.

Project Spotlight: New York's Capital Region in 50 Objects

In 2015, the Albany Institute of History and Art (AIHA) was awarded a Heritage Development Grant from the Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area (HRVNHA) to develop an exhibit called "The Capital Region in 50 Objects." The exhibit showcased historic and fine art objects, imagery and multimedia presentations to illustrate the top 50 people, places, and events of the Capital Region. It was developed with input from local museums, historical societies, and heritage sites, and even members of the public. In 2016, the HRVNHA awarded the AIHA another grant to help develop a book that will preserve the exhibit beyond just its exhibition dates. The book was recently released, along with an online exhibition and a teacher resource of classroom curriculum based on the exhibit.

Grant Opportunities

Hudson River Valley Greenway Grant Program- Due February 3rd

Matching grants available for Greenway Communities and Greenway Compact Communities. More here.

Hudson River Valley National Heritage Area Heritage Development Grants

This annual matching grant program offers funding for programming, interpretation, and marketing projects that support the mutual goals of the HRVNHA and applicants. Grants will typically range from $1,000 to $5,000. Deadline February 3rd. More here.

NYS DEC Environmental Justice Community Impact Grants

Grants to mitigate environmental and public health threats in low-income and minority communities. Deadline January 31. More here.

Making Transportation Smart and Sustainable Funding from NYSERDA & NYSDOT

Proposals are welcome from organizations with ideas to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions and energy consumption from New York's multi-modal transportation system. Project areas include Smart Mobility Solutions, Smart Infrastructure and Systems Planning, and Smart Freight and Urban Delivery Systems. More here.

New York State Assembly Grants Action News

State, federal, and private grant information from the New York State Assembly, for grants ranging from law and social science research, media projects, economic and social inequality studies, to suicide prevention research. More here.

Grants Available to Improve Parks, Trails, and Historic Sites

Parks and Trails New York and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation, and Historic Preservation have teamed up to provide grants funded through the Environmental Protection Fund. More here.

Conservation Treatment Grant Program

The New York State Council on the Arts and Greater Hudson Heritage Network have partnered to provide support for treatment procedures by professional conservators to aid in stabilizing and preserving objects in collections of museums, historical, and cultural organizations in New York State. More here.

Doppelt Family Trail Development Fund

The Rails to Trails Conservancy will provide up to $85,000 per year to qualifying trail projects through a competitive process. Applications accepted December 1, 2016 to January 31, 2017. More here.